Thank Goodness for Garrison Keillor

Being horribly busy all the time, running hither and yon, and delivering the girls to the various parts of their lives (and, to be honest, my internet addiction) has led me to neglect what once was a great pleasure in my life: listening to Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion every Saturday evening.

I often like the music on that show, and the gentle, subtle humor can be a nice change from the caustic broadsides we've become used to in our modern lives. But it is really the quality of his writing that I miss.

Justin, over at Down with Absolutes, has posted a great political commentary by Keillor, from back in June. That led me to a little light Googling and that led me to The Old Scout, a collection of Keillor columns.

The most recent -- The cranky man's guide to contentment -- is a great example. In it, Keillor works his way from a pleasant visit to Missoula, Montana, through various musings on happiness, past a variety of urban vexations, and so to the present political situation.

His conclusion:

The power of righteous vexation is what keeps so many old Democrats hanging on in nursing homes long past the time they should have kicked off. Ancient crones from FDR's time are still walking the halls, kept alive by anger at what has been done to our country. Old conservationists, feminists, grizzled veterans of the civil rights era fight off melanoma, emphysema, Montezuma, thanks to the miracle drug of anger. Slackers and cynics abound, not to mention nihilists in golf pants and utter idiots. Time to clean some clocks. As Frost might have written, "The woods are lovely, dark and thick. But I have many butts to kick and some to poke and just one stick."

I believe I'll add The Old Scout to my on-line reading list.

Corrected (1:18 p.m.): Corrected misattribution from Mike to Justin. Thanks, Nancy.

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